The Minnesota Craniofacial Research Training Program is a direct response to PAR-00-116, the NIDCR Blue Ribbon Panel on Research Training and Career Development and the national need for training the next generation of biomedical scientists. The University of Minnesota will serve as a regional center for training in dental, craniofacial, and oral health research, in partnership with the University of Illinois, Chicago, the University of Kentucky, the University of Puerto Rico, Case-Western Reserve University, and Marquette University. Trainees will engage in cross-disciplinary research training opportunities with groups of experienced, dedicated and well-supported founding mentors in Neuroscience, Microbiology and Immunology, Cancer Biology, Developmental Biology and Genetics, Clinical Research, Health Services and Informatics, Biophysical Sciences, Nanotechnology, and Tissue Engineering. Cross-disciplinary supporting fields include Genomics, Proteomics, Structural Biology, and Computational Biology. The mission of the program is to engage trainees in novel, mentored research that is fundamental to biology and human health, and applied research that expands the frontiers and scope of dental, craniofacial, and oral health. To foster our mission and ensure strong mentorship and cross-disciplinary research training, a non-hierarchical and highly consultative administrative structure has been established. Trainee options include DDS/PhD (DSTP), MD/PhD (MSTP), predoctoral PhD, short-term trainees, postdoctoral fellows, post-DDS postdoctoral/PhD (with or without advanced clinical training), post-DDS postdoctoral/MS in Clinical Research. This new program supercedes our existing T32, T35 and K16 programs supported by NIDCR. The Minnesota regional center builds upon our considerable training experiences, outstanding applicant pools and partnerships, and appreciation for creative, cross-disciplinary mentored research training. The Minnesota regional center will train investigators, who will work at the state-of-the-art to expand the frontiers of dental, craniofacial, and oral health research.